Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to multifunctional printers, particularly receiving operation requests at multifunctional printers from client devices over a peer to peer network.
Background
Printers, copiers, scanners, and fax machines are commonly used in offices and other settings. Multifunctional printers (MFPs), also known as “multifunctional products” or “multifunctional systems,” combine the functionalities of printers, copiers, scanners, fax machines, and/or other devices, such that multiple operations of single device can be used instead of having many devices on hand that are each dedicated to a single operation.
In many situations, an MFP is connected to a network, and client devices such as computers or mobile devices can operate the MFP by exchanging data with the MFP over the network via a server, router, or other intermediate hardware. For example, an office can set up an internal local area network (LAN), and connects its MFP to a print server. When a computer connected to the office's LAN wants to print a document using the MFP, it can send the document's data over the LAN to the print server, which can then reroute it to the MFP for printing. These types of connections are common, but can lead to problems when there are issues with the network. For instance, client devices can often fail to connect with an MFP when a server fails or there is network congestion, leading to frustration and decreased productivity.
As an alternate connection method, MFPs have recently been developed that can connect with client devices over peer to peer networks without routing data through a centralized server. Such peer to peer networks include direct connections using Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct, Near Field Communication (NFC), wireless ad hoc networks, Universal Plug and Play (UPnP), Bonjour, zero-configuration networks, and/or any other type of P2P network. A client device can thus be paired with an MFP through a P2P network rather than having data pass through centralized hardware before reaching the MFP. The client device can then exchange data with the MFP over the P2P network without worrying about issues on a larger network.
While P2P connections between client devices and MFPs can be useful for these and other reasons, existing methods of informing a MFP about which of its many operations is being requested by a client device can be problematic. Some solutions can involve the client device sending a message to the MFP describing the type of operation being requested, but this can lead to delays as the MFP interprets the message. For example, an operation request received by an MFP at a common port used for all communications may need to be interpreted by multiple applications, functions, or systems within the MFP to determine which operations are actually being requested, which can take time and/or resources.
What is needed is a system and method for receiving an operation request from a client device at a network port open at an MFP, such that the MFP can determine the type of requested operation from the identity of the network port through which the operation request was received.